soiiss?4tfriESGiEXHr 


IN    THE 


EPISCOPAL  JOURNAL"  OF  BISHOP  RAVENSCROFT, 


CORRECTED, 


•»#©•*<• 


.Siltofcurg : 


PRINTED    BY    PHILO    WHITE 


1827. 


The  undersigned,  Elders  and  Deacons  of  the  Lutheran 
Church  in  Salisbury,  have  read  with  surprise  and  regret, 
the  manner  in  which  Bishop  Ravenscroft,  in  his  "  Episcopal 
Journal,"  has  noticed  the  "  interference  in  appointments," 
which  happened  in  this  place  about  the  time  of  his  last  visit. 
As  what  the  Bishop  has  there  said  is  not  only  essenti^llv 
erroneous,  but  conveys  an  indirect  censure  on  the  "  other 
denominations"  alluded  to,  we  feel  reluctantly  driven  to 
the  necessity  of  correcting  his  misstatement,  in  the  same 
public  manner  in  which  it  was  made  ;  otherwise  our  silence 
might  be  taken  as  an  admission  of  the  truth  of  his  assertions. 
The  following  are  the  remarks  of  the  Bishop,  to  which 
we  have  reference  : 

"  During  my  visit  to  this  place,  an  interference  in  appointments  took 
place,  which  gave  me  the  opportunity  to  press  upon  the  members  of  the 
Church  the  necessity,  as  well  as  the  propriety,  of  providing  a  place  of  wor- 
ship for  themselves.  And  though  the  present  building  has  been  erected  almost 
entirely  at  the  expense  of  Episcopalians,  yet  as  the  ground  :«,s  originally  given 
for  lohat  is  called  a  Free  Church,  and  each  denomination  has  a?i  equal  right  to 
the  use  of  it,  I  recommended  to  surrender  it  altogether,  to  submit  to  the 
loss,  should  the  other  denominations  refuse  a  reasonable  reimbursement, 
and  rent  some  convenient  place  for  present  use,  until  they  could  provide 
the  means  of  erecting  a  suitable  building  for  themselves  ;  and  I  have  reason 
to  believe  that  this,  or  such  other  course  as  will  prevent  all  collision,  will  be 
pursued." 

In  these  few  remarks,  the  Bishop  has  made  two  assertions, 
both  of  which  are  palpably  incorrect.  One  is:  "That  the 
ground  (in  question)  was  originally  given  for  what  is  called 
a  free  church,  and  each  denomination  has  an  equal  right  to 
the  use  of  it  ;"  The  other  is  :   "  That  the  present  building  has 

been  erected  almost  entirely  at  the  expense  of  the   Episco- 
palians." 

That  Bishop  Ravenscroft  is  entirely  mistaken  in  the  first 
assertion,  namely,  as  to  the  ground,  will  fully  appear  lrom 
the  words  of  the  deed  itself,  executed  on  the  9th  day  of 
September,  1768,  by  John  Lewis  Beard,  a  professed  Luther- 
an, and  a  member  of  the  church  then  existing  in  Salisbury. 


(   3) 

ii  This  Indenture,  made  the  9th  day  of  September,  in  the  veai 
of  our  Lord  1768,  between  John  Lewis  Beard,  &x.  of  the  one 
part,  and  Michael  Brown,  Michael  Moore,  Casper  Gienther  and 
Peter  Reeb,  Trustees  of  tlie  German  Lutheran  congregation  in  the 
town  of  Salisbury,  of  the  other  part,  Whnesselh,"  &c — u  doth 
grant,  bargain,"  &c.  "  unto  the  said  trustees  of  the  said  congrega- 
tion, and  to  their  successors  in  that  office,  for  ever,"  «  to  have  and  to 
hold,"  &c.  "  unto  the  said  German  Lutheran  Congregation,  in  and 
about  the  said  town  of  Salisbury,  for  to  erect  and  to  build  thereon 
a  Church,  or  meeting-house,  Jit  the  only  /iro/ier  use  and  behoof  of 
the  said  German  Lutheran  Congregation,  forever."  "  And  it  is 
further  agreed  by  the  parties  to  these  presents,  that  it  shall  be 
allowed,  by  the  a/ifirvbalion  of  the  Minister,  trustees,  and  elders  of 
said  congregation,  that  any  lawful  minister  of  the  gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  shall  have  liberty  to  preach  in  the  said  Church, 
if  he  can  and  do  show  a  sufficient  testimonial,  in  writing,  either 
from  the  High  Church  cl  England,  or  from  the  reformed  Calvin 
Ministers,  at  such  time  as  the  said  Lutheran  Ministers  doth  noj  want 
to  Jierjbrm  divine  service  in  said  Church." 

This  is  a  correct  extract  from  the  deed,  executed  as  above 
stated,  regularly  registered  and  recorded.  Without  any 
comments  on  our  part,  we  leave  it  with  the  public  to  say, 
whether  the  letter  or  meaning  of  that  instrument  will  bear 
the  Bishop  out  in  his  assertion,  "  that  the  ground  was  origi- 
nally given  for  what  is  culled  a  free  church,  and  each  denomi' 
nation  has  an  equal  right  to  the  use  of  if." 

It  now  remains  for  us  to  show,  that  Bishop  Ravenscroft 
is  equally  mistaken  in  his  other  assertion,  "thai  the  present 
buiding  has  been  erected  almost  entirely  at  the  expense  of 
the  Episcopalians." 

A  short  time  after  the  ground  in  question  was  granted,  as 
before  stated,  the  Lutherans  proceeded  to  build  thereon  a 
house  of  worship,  which  always  went  by  the  name  of  the 
"  Lutheran  Church,1'  and  was  uniformly  occupied  by  the 
congregadon.  In  1788,  the  Rev.  Charles  A.  G.  Storke,  a 
pious  and  learned  divine  of  the  Lutheran  church,  settled  in 
Salisbury  as  the  regular  pastor  of  the  congregation,  and 
preached  in  the  church  for  a  number  of  years,  or  until  he  re- 


So 


(4) 

moved  to  the  country  to  take  charge  of  other  congregations. 
After  his  removal,  the  congregation  began  to  lose  its  organi- 
zation 5  and  the  huuse,  Irom  neglect,  weot  considerably  to 
decay.  Subsequently  to  Mr.  Storke's  removal,  it  was  sel- 
dom occupied  tor  preaching,  particularly  alter  the  completion 
of  the  New  Court-H  >usc,  which,  on  account  of  its  cei.tr A 
situation,  was  geneially  prettrred  by  preachers  of  all  denom- 
inations. Things  continued  in  this  situation  until  -ibout  the 
ye  r  1812 — 'J3,  when  the  Females  of  the  place  started  a  sub- 
scription for  building  a  house  ol  public  worship  for  the  use  of 
the  Tow;..  There  being  no  regularly  organized  congicga- 
tioa  in  Salisbury,  all  classes  ot  the  citizens  united  in  the 
subscription  to  build  a  house  of  public  worship.  The  words  * 
of  the  subscription  itstU,  set  forth  the  object,  and  explicitly 
designated  tha:  the  church  was  to  be  erected  on  the  Lutheran 
Char  h  ground.  To  this  paper  was  subscribed  the  sum  of 
§1,291.  Some  of  the  most  zealous  of  the  subscribers  met 
together,  and  appointed  agents  to  contract  for,  and  to  super- 
intend the  building  of  the  new  Church.  The  old  house  was 
set  up  at  auction,  and  actually  bid  off  at  about  SlOO  ;  it  was 
torn  down,  and  removed,  and  the  present  building  erected 
on  the  very  same  spot  where  the  old  one  stood.  Belore 
the  new  house  was  budt,  and  more  particularly  after  its  com- 
pletion, a  dissatisfaction  arose  among  some  of  the  subscri- 
bers about  the  management  of  the  business-  the  consequence 
of  which  was,  that  some  of  them  refused  to  pay.  But 
IMessrs.  Locke  and  Allemong,  merchants  of  this  place, 
having,  in  some  manner,  become  bound  to  the  builders,  they 
met  the  contract,  and  asserted  a  claim  on  the  hou^e  for  the 
sura  paid  by  them  over  and  above  whit  the  subscription  had 
realized.  These  gentlemen  made  repeated  efforts  to  obtain 
re-pavment  of  the  sum  advanced  by  them  y  but  circums'an- 
ces  alw  »ys  prevented  success.  The  matter,  therefore,  con- 
tinued unsettled;  and,  while  thus  unsettled,  a  part  of  the 
subscribers  united  with  other  individu  ils  in  forming  a  Pres- 
byterian congregation  in  this  place. 

A   year  or  two  thereafter,  Bishop  Ravenscroft  paid  hir, 


(5  ) 

first  visit  to  Salisbury,  and  succeeded  in  bringing  together 
and  organizing  an  Episcopal  congregation, — the  first  Episco- 
pal congregation  or  Church  that  ever  existed  in  Salisbury. 

The  surviving  members  of  the  Lutheran  Church,  with 
others,  also  met  together,  and  revived  their  ancient  congre- 
gation. Thus,  in  a  short  period  oi  time,  three  congregations 
sprung  npf  and  each  obtained  a  staled  preacher  to  adminis- 
ter to  them.  1  his  new  state  of  things  started  the  question, 
Who  shall  have  the  new  church? 

The  Presbyterians,  although  several  of  their  members  had 
paid  their  subscription,  never  tor  a  moment  set  up  any  claim 
as  a  body,  either  to  the  ground  or  the  house.  Haying,  by 
the  formation  of  another  society,  separated  themselves  from 
the  m  .ss  of  the  subscribers,  they  quietly  proceeded  to  r-dse 
funds  to  buiid  a  house  ot  worship  for  themselves  ;  and,  in 
the  mean  time,  they  perform  divine  service  in  the  Court- 
House  j — excepting  <.n  sacramental  occasions  ;  when,  by  invi- 
tation, they  use  the  Church. 

The  Episcopalians,  however,  set  up  a  claim  as  well  to  the 
ground  as  to  the  house.  The  Bishop,  we  presume,  has 
stated  their  grounds  of  claim  in  that  part  of  his  journal  to 
which  we  take  exception. 

The  Lutherans,  on  their  part,  very  naturally  turned  their 
minds  to  the  spot  granted  to  their  church  as  a  place  of  wor- 
ship,— where  their  predecessors  had  for  so  many  years  wor- 
shipped, and  where  repose  the  remains  of  their  departed  kin- 
dred and  friends.  T hey,  therefore,  under  the  deed  above 
quoted,  set  up  an  exclusive  claim  to  the  ground  ;  but  as  to 
the  house,  they  only  contended  that  they  had  as  much  right 
to  the  use  of  it  as  any  other  denomination. 

At  this  stage  of  the  question  it  was,  that  the  "  interference 
in  appointments"  alluded  to  by  the  Bishop,  took  pi  -ce.  We 
shall  not  here  detail  the  circumstances  of  that  inierference  5 
but  we  embrace  the  occasion  to  declare,  that  not  the  slight-, 
est  shadow  of  the  blame  arising  out  of  that  occurrence,  can 
with  propriety  be  attached  to  the  Lutheran  Preacher  or  con-, 
gregation.     The  incident,  however,  impressed  both    parties 


(6) 

with  the  necessity  of  settling  the  question  as  to  who  should 
hold  the  house.  Accordingly,  a  conference  and  a  corres- 
pondence took  place  between  the  two  denominations.  On 
the  part  of  the  Episcopalians,  two  propositions  were  submit- 
ted ;  both  of  which  were  rejected,  for  the  reason  that  tney 
contemplated  a  disposal  of  the  ground, — the  Lutherans 
holding  that  the  ground  was  theirs,  and  could  not  become  a 
subject  of  negotiation.  They,  however,  in  turn,  offered 
two  propositions,  in  the  words  following:  "  1st.  The  Lu- 
therans consent  that  the  Episcopalians  may  move  off  the 
house  from  the  ground,  on  condition  they  pay  the  claim  of 
Messrs.  Locke  and  Allemong,  and  also  satisfy  such  of  the 
subscribers  as  have  paid  their  subscription.  If  this  be  not 
agreed  to,  then,  as  another  effort  in  the  cause  of  friendship, 
the  Lutherans,  2dly,  propose  to  submit  the  matter  in  contro- 
versy to  the  investigation  and  decision  of  four  disinterested 
men,  to  be  mutually  chosen  by  the  parties." 

On  receiving  these  propositions,  the  gentlemen  acting  on 
the  part  of  the  Episcopalians,  desired  time  to  consult  their 
constituents.  After  several  weeks  delay,  the  result  was,  that 
they  acceded  to  neither  proposition,  but  wholly  dropped  all 
further  claim  on  the  house  and  ground:  Whereupon,  the 
Lutherans  went  forward  and  paid  Messrs.  Locke  and  Alle- 
mong S940  5T,  that  being  the  amount  claimed  by  them. 
The  original  cost  of  the  house  was  considerably  more  than 
the  amount  of  the  subscription  :  the  cost  was,  Si 605  57 
Towards  this  sum,  was  paid  by  five  persons  attached 

to  the  Episcopalian  church,  (only  two  of  whom 

are  members)  _____  350 

Leaving  to  be  otherwise  paid,  -  1259  57 

This  latter  sum   was  further  reduced  by  payments 

made  by  other  subscribers,  to  940  57 

And  in  the  end,  this  sum  was  paid,  as  stated  above,  by  the 
Lutheran  congregation. 

Here,  again,  we  respectfully  submit  for  the  public  to  say, 
whether  this  statement  of  facts  will  bear  the  Bishop  out   in 


C'T) 

his  assertion,  "  that  the  present  building  has  been  erected 
almost  entirely  at  the  expense  of  the  Episcopalians. " 

In  closing  our  remarks,  we  take  occasion  to  disclaim  the 
thought  that  Bishop  Ravenscroft  has  designedly  made  these 
misrepresentations  :  we  think  too  favorably  of  his  piety  and 
candour,  to  indulge  the  opinion.  We  believe,  that,  by  some 
means  or  other,  he  has  been  misinformed  and  misled  in  the 
matter.  This,  however,  does  not  make  it  less  our  duty  to 
ward  off  the  prejudice  his  remarks  are  calculated  to  draw 
upon  us.  Why  we  have  not  sooner  done  this,  is  owing  al- 
together to  the  fact,  that  the  Bishop's  Journal  never  fell  into 
our  hands  until   within  a  short  time  past. 

Being  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  our  statement,  as  the  Bishop 

will  be  when  he  examines  the  facts  of   the  case,  we  indulge 

the  hope,  that  in  his  next  Journal  he  will  correct   the  error 

committed  in  his  last  one. 

JOHN  BEARD,  Sen.; 


3en.? 
ER.$ 


GEORGE  VOGLER.^ 

JAMES  BROWN, "? 
ROBERT  MULL,  5  Ucacons' 


